Dragon Age: Shred of Hope
by KotOR-Luvr
Summary: A new member joins the Chargers, an elf supposedly with no name and no care to share her history. He doesn't understand why, but Grim finds himself becoming more and more drawn to her. It could be because of her looks, or because of her skills or her ability to fight. It could be the mystery that surrounds her. Or, it could be that they're both more alike than they care to think.
1. Raw Recruit

**A/N: If you follow my Tumblr or DeviantART, you'll know that I have an OC for Dragon Age: Inquisition. You'll hear more about her in the story, so I won't describe her here in the Author's Note. Anyways, to clarify, I like Grim. One of my more favourite Chargers (and coming in a VERY close second to Krem); he's handsome and cute, he's a strong silent type and he's terribly underrated because (I think) he doesn't talk/have much of a part. We also don't know very much about him so not very many people care. Anyways, this will be a series of one-shots and this is the only one that takes place before the Chargers joined the Inquisition. If this goes well, I'll continue it. If not... then yeah.**

 **Chapter Genre: General**

 **Chapter Rating: T**

 **Rating Content: Brief Mild Language, Depictions of Violence, Depictions of Blood**

* * *

At first glance, she didn't look like the fighting type. She was pretty lanky-looking, even for an elf. Thin arms and legs, small waist (but with a decent hourglass figure), dainty hands. The pack she was carrying looked almost too heavy for her to even be carrying in the first place. Her skin was just a bit darker than most elves, though, so she must be outside often or traveled a lot. Her hair was very short and layered, and it was a strikingly dark brown, almost to the point it was black. Her face was a mix of sharp angles and soft edges, giving her an almost too feminine look.

Of course, she wore earrings, two on her right ear were just a silver and gold ring, around the tip of her ear, and the one on her left ear was a small chain with a Mabari tooth at the end. They weren't too bad, he guessed. The Vallaslin that decorated her face wasn't too intricate of a design, either, just around her jawline, under her eyes and on her chin.

The only thing that gave her a predatory look were her eyes. They were upturned, giving her an almost seductive look. Her dark lashes were thick and voluminous, which brought out the colour of her eyes very well. The most venomous of greens, much like a snake's. Krem had even said to him that her eyes looked like they could take someone's soul just by looking at them.

Maybe that's why the Chief had let her join them on their assignment.

Or maybe it was her insistence and her throwing a knife between two people leaning against a wall. Either way, she was already tagging along and there was no changing the Chief's mind.

Despite her non-intimidating appearance, Grim couldn't help but feel on edge as she had walked beside him. Before they left, she donned this sort of armour, which hid her figure quite a fair amount. The chest plate was made from what looked to be like Antivan Leather, expensive but extremely good quality. There was a metal plate on her left shoulder, held by a thin leather strap. There was a leather harness across her right shoulder which was connected to a belt around her hips. There was two holsters, both containing some type of blades. One was located in front of her left hip and the other was located just behind her back. He didn't understand the arrangement of her weapons, but he didn't bother to ask. There was no need to ask, anyhow.

She had simply donned some black leggings, which were longer than her actual legs. Upon looking, however, Grim had noticed that the leggings also worked like a sock, allowing some protection on the bottoms of her feet. However, her heels and the toes were still exposed. He would never understand why most elves didn't like wearing shoes... There were metal platings on the sides of the thigh-areas of her leggings, which he also didn't understand.

Once they had reached the cave, the elf was extremely on edge and he swore he heard her say something about not liking it. When the Chief asked her, she just said something was off.

"Just the first-assignment jitters." Bull told her. "You'll get over it."

She didn't look like she had appreciated him tossing her bad feeling aside but she let it pass. Grim, however, also thought it was just her being nervous but once they got into the cave, both he and the Chief were proven wrong.

As it turned out, their little 'target' was apparently non-existent and the Chargers had been set up by a rival company and were ambushed. There were lots of archers and Mages and, because of the mages, plenty of undead. It was no wonder they didn't get payed up front this time!

The elf had handled herself pretty well. Although he wasn't watching her (mainly because he couldn't catch a break between fighting Mages and undead and archers), he caught a few glimpses of her fighting and he was very impressed with how well she had handled herself.

The only things that ever followed one of her movements would be shouts of pain, the death rattles of the undead, breaking of skeleton bones and the (almost) unnerving stench of burning flesh. He didn't know the cause of the stench until he managed to catch another glimpse of her fighting against a mage.

Her blades were on fire.

Since when was it possible to do that?

One final enemy was left and he was taking off through an escape route of sorts. Grim just about went after him, but the elf was hot on his trail, dropping her blades and charging down the stone path. They all waited patiently and she returned, dragging the mage behind her. She tossed him, _literally_ , ahead and grabbed her blades, threatening him with them.

Although the Chief did end up killing the mage, he prevented the elf from doing so. Most likely something to do with morals and listening to what he had to say first, getting answers before tying the loose end.

Bull, of course, didn't fail to voice his impression of the elf after they had returned to the Tavern, smacking her right on her back and knocking the wind clear out of her lungs (and nearly tossing her to the ground in the process).

Grim was shaken from his thoughts as someone tapped at his shoulder. He looked up to see Krem, looking almost amused. "What about you; any good nicknames?"

He raised an eyebrow and looked around, now seeing that all eyes were on him.

"For the rookie." Krem clarified, pointing up into the rafters of the tavern.

Grim then looked up to see the elf sitting on one of the rafters, her leg hanging off the edge as she twirled one of her blades. "I don't need a nickname." She stated curtly.

"Everyone is given a nickname under the Chargers." Bull told her. "And since you won't tell us your real name, or tell us much about you before meeting us, you'll have to settle with a nickname."

"Elf."

Bull made a face. "No, you don't look like... well, you _are_ an elf, but that doesn't suit you for a name."

The elf scoffed and rolled her eyes. "You seem pretty particular about names, Bull."

"I need to call you _something_."

Grim shifted in his seat. "Shredder."

Her eyes suddenly widened and she looked down at him as she stopped twirling her blade. "You actually talk?"

He didn't respond.

"Not a bad name, Grim." Bull said. "I watched you when we were fighting in the ambush. The only blood you got on yourself was the enemy's blood. You were a force of nature, shredding through the enemy. A relentless storm of daggers and flames. Shredder suits you!"

The elf - Shredder - rolled her eyes again.

"Which actually makes me think; how do you set your blades on fire like that?" Krem asked.

Shredder slid down from the rafter and landed gracefully on her bare feet, tossing one of her blades to him. "See that substance coating the blade?"

"What is it?"

"Dragon saliva." She stated. She then pointed to the tip of the blade. "That there is flint; strike it against anything hard and rough and it sparks and, in turn, it lights the blade."

"Where the hell would you get dragon saliva?" The Bull asked.

"Aided in the killing of a dragon, once. I wanted to try an experiment; a theory." She took the blade from Krem and sheathed it in its holster. "Took some saliva and lit it on fire. It worked out."

"Why have your blades on fire?"

"It makes the cuts more painful, and death a lot slower. Fire instantly cauterizes the blood." She told Krem. She then grabbed a chair and sat cross-legged on it. "And it scares the creepy-crawlies, namely spiders."

Grim briefly eyed the elf. She was a lot smarter than what he had previously given her credit for. She was also a fighter, no doubt about it! And a damned beautiful elf.

He didn't understand why, but he was glad she made it into the Chargers.

/ / /

She was obviously limping, but he decided not to voice it. She was a strong person and asking about it would most likely just wound her pride. Not only that, but he already knew the cause of the limping thanks to the (barely-there) blood smudges that he saw on the floor of the Tavern.

Grim and the rest of the gang had decided to turn in for the evening and on their way to the tents, he saw that the elf was limping. It was most likely after she chased the mage in the cave; the ground was rough and if you didn't tread carefully, you could easily end up cutting yourself on some bone shards or sharp rock edges, or pierce your foot with a newly-growing stalagmite.

He wanted to inform Stitches about it, but it would almost be no different than asking her about the wound directly. Once again, he let it go.

At first, Grim thought she was walking towards a tent but instead, she started climbing up a tree. Krem was the second to notice. "Good luck sleeping up there. Don't fall and crack your skull in the night, mind you!" He called to her.

Shredder stood on a thick branch and removed some of her armor, strapping them to smaller branches above her. Then, pulling some rope out from her bag, she lied down on the thick branch so her back was against the trunk and her feet were pointing out on the branch. She then used the ropes to tie her legs to the branch, not tight enough to cut off blood circulation, but tight enough to keep her from falling off and she wrapped the bag around her feet. Most likely to keep them from freezing. "Sound advice, Cremisius." She replied.

Krem sighed and shook his head. "That elf is something else..."

"Mm." He grunted in response.

/ / /

She was only just starting to get comfortable until she heard a set of heavy footsteps approaching her. She sat up and turned her head to see the Iron Bull walking towards her. She released a small sigh of relief. If it wasn't for the campfire that some of the Chargers set up, she might have mistaken the Bull for someone else.

"Shredder." He greeted.

She raised an eyebrow. "Something you need, Bull?"

He was tall enough that he was almost eye level with her, despite her being in a tree. She needed to sleep in a taller tree...

"I just wanted to say that you did well today." He said. "And that you're now officially part of the Chargers."

She snorted. "I get the feeling that there's a few catches."

"We move around a lot." He explained. "There's never much of a permanent 'home' for us. There's often a lot of life-or-death assignments we get put on, suicide missions, and we sometimes lose some people. If you don't mind those things, then you're free to stay as long as you pull your own weight."

Shredder shrugged and crossed her arms. "As long as I get payed and as long as nobody gains any personal problems with me, I'm fine with all of those things. And death isn't something that scares me, if that's what you're hinting at."

"Good to know."

Bull patted the trunk of the tree. "Sleep well; we have a far distance to travel tomorrow." He turned and left the elf to her own devices. "And don't fall out of the tree." He called back.


	2. An Offer

**A/N: Wow, I'm actually shocked with how quickly people saw this and followed or favourited it! I'm glad you people are liking it!**

 **Judy: Thank you so much!**

 **Guest: Thanks, mate! I'm glad you're enjoying it!**

 **Chapter Genre: General**

 **Chapter Rating: T**

 **Rating Content: Brief Mentions of Blood, Breif Mild Innuendo, Brief Mild Language**

* * *

It was probably one of their more cleaner assignments, but at the same time it was one of the dirtiest. Between the constant bloodshed and the rain, it was either blood or mud that they were covered in.

Shredder was covered in a mix of both, although the blood was slowly washing off whatever part of her wasn't covered with clothing or armour. However, blood was hard to wash off of leather.

With a growl of frustration she struck one of her blades against a rock. A single flash of a spark was seen, but that was it. "You'd think the bloody things would work..." She muttered, sheathing her blades.

They both looked to see the Iron Bull talking with an elf. Krem had mentioned how they were possibly getting hired, so that elf might be their new boss if things go good.

Shredder wiped back her hair and spat at the rain that flowed over her lips. "You don't seem to be too bothered by this, Grim."

"Mm." Was his immediate response, accompanied with a shrug.

She _tsked_ and shook her head. "I get you don't talk much, but could at least say something that's more than one syllable?"

He raised an eyebrow.

She then sighed. "Why do I even bother?" She muttered. She then walked away to do her job of throat cutting; checking the bodies, giving one swift slit of the throat, making sure that they really were dead.

Grim couldn't help but watch as she left. The way her hips swayed, how her muscles could be seen rippling underneath her clothes. She looked lanky, but she was extremely well-built. Her bangs would fall in front of her eyes and give her an almost wild look, with the way the rain dripped from it.

He mentally slapped himself and reminded himself not to stare.

"Oy, Grim!" Krem called. "We're opening up the casks, we need some help!"

Thankful for the distraction, Grim was quick to respond and walked over to where most of their supplies were stored. The rain had made them slippery so Grim made short work of them by using an axe.

Dumb idea, of course, because almost immediately after, the Chief had said they had just been hired.

"What about the casks, Chief?" Krem practically whined. "We just opened them up. With _axes_."

"Find some way to seal them." Bull replied.

/ / /

Haven was somewhat smaller than what Grim was expecting, but it was a very beautiful place. Calm, too. It was a nice change, knowing that they didn't have to move around for a while. For the most part, they'd be able to relax.

By the time they had arrived, it was almost dusk and they were all in a rush to get the tents set up. Of course, oddly enough, Shredder wasn't getting one set up for herself at all.

"Are you going to sleep in a tree with this cold?" Krem had asked her.

"Trust me, Cremisius." She said. "This is _nothing_ compared to what I've experienced. All I need is a blanket or two."

Krem made a face. "Why do you sleep in a tree, anyways? I doubt you find it comfortable."

"It's not. But it's better than sleeping in a tent. It's harder to be found or eaten in a tree. Or for your stuff to be stolen."

Krem snorted and a small smirk spread on his lips. "What, that happened to you before?"

She didn't respond.

Stitches didn't fail to overhear their conversation. "I wouldn't sleep in a tree this time, Shredder." He told her. "It isn't cold now, but wait until the sun is gone; blankets won't help against the cold. I don't want you getting sick."

"I'm well aware, Stitches!" She snapped at the healer. "But for one, I don't have a tent. And secondly, a tree is safer."

Stitches made a face. "Tents are large enough for two."

"Two's a crowd for me."

Krem and Grim watched as the two argued, one more amused than the other. Either the Chief would come and solve the issue, or Krem would have to issue some sort of order as Lieutenant, something he wasn't too keen to do to an elf that looked like she could murder you in your sleep.

"As the company healer, I am ordering you to sleep in a tent while we're here at Haven!"

Well, it looked like he didn't have to, then.

Shredder's venomous green eyes seemed to glow with an almost murderous intent, then. Her eyes narrowed and the corner of her lip curled slightly in a snarl. Did her ears flatten slightly? Grim never really took the time to notice if elves could show emotions with their ears. Or maybe it was just the way that elf ears were that made them look expressive. Either way, she looked ready to stab someone.

The elf sighed heavily (which really sounded more like a growl) and readjusted the bag on her shoulder. "Fine. Is there anyone willing to share a tent, though? Or is there even space?"

Grim looked around and saw that most of the Chargers had already set up and gone into their tents. Some were around a fire, but he already knew who shared a tent with who. Dalish and Skinner shared a tent, Rocky was with Stitches, and Krem was with the Chief. That left only one person.

"Yeah. Me."

They looked at Grim, who remained expressionless. He shrugged slightly. Although she was a rookie, she wasn't the biggest favourite of anyone in the Chargers. She always looked angry and on edge. He knew better, though, and he also felt a bit empathetic as well. When he first joined the Chargers, nobody had wanted to share a tent with him either because of his lack of voice and expression.

Krem looked hesitant but Stitches was satisfied. "There you have it."

Shredder gave Grim a look and he stared right back. She wasn't going to intimidate him. Well, he wasn't going to show it, at least.

She finally looked away and shrugged. "Fine, Stitches. Whatever makes you feel better."

/ / /

She was a restless sleeper. It didn't surprise him, considering how much she couldn't hardly sit still whenever they were taking a break from travel. She always needed something to do.

It could also be that Shredder wasn't used to sleeping in a tent.

She was constantly tossing and turning and he would occasionally hear her say some things in Elven. At least, it sounded like it. Grim was never very good with languages other than English.

He sighed and turned around so he was facing her. "Relax." He hissed. Normally he wouldn't lose his patience with anyone, but he also needed to sleep.

Shredder didn't respond and only curled up, muttering more words in Elven.

He sat up. "Hey, calm down."

Once again, she ignored him. Thinking she was just trying to anger him, Grim turned on the lamp that hung in the tent and glared. "Shredder-"

Her eyes were closed. It didn't mean a thing, she could've been pretending, but her expression, the way her body twitched and shifted, those were signs of sleep as well as dreaming. From the looks of things, it wasn't a very good dream.

Brows furrowed, her lips set in a small frown, body curled in on itself, hands clenching at the pillow and the sheets.

She was having a nightmare.

At first, he wanted to wake her, to try and spare her from the bad dream. But if it was something that really scared her, Grim didn't want to end up with his throat being cut (she had put a knife under her pillow) or being punched in the face.

Turning off the lamp, he pulled the covers back over himself and turned so his back was facing hers. He would talk to her about it in the morning.

/ / /

Her awakening was a lot more peaceful than most. Despite the dream she had experienced, waking up wasn't quite as violent or sudden that morning.

Was it even morning?

From what she could see (considering that things were still blurry) it looked like it was still dark outside. It couldn't be the evening still, but it must've just been the early morning. Really early.

Shredder sighed tiredly and yawned. Well, if she was already awake, then there was no point in trying to go back to sleep.

She had attempted to sit up, but something that wrapped around her waist stopped her from moving. Thinking it could've been some sort of intruder, she whipped around and gave a good elbow into the intruders ribs, making him groan loudly in response.

"Shit, sorry Grim!"

Grim rolled around onto his back and held a hand to his side, which was most likely going to bruise within the next few hours. "Why...?" He groaned.

"You were holding me down, you idiot!" She hissed at him. "You scared me!"

He sat up and turned on the lamp, his eyes wincing at the sudden brightness. "You don't need to hit!"

"It's reflex!" She snapped.

Grim sighed and rubbed at his ribs. "I'm fine."

Despite herself, Shredder couldn't help but be a bit snarky. Tilting her head to the side, she asked, "Do you snuggle with your pillow or something?"

"Mm?"

"You were just snuggling with me, so do you snuggle with your pillow when you sleep?" A small smirk tugged at the corner of her lips. "Or do you have someone to snuggle with?"

He instantly glared daggers at her. "No." Was his curt response.

"'No' to what? The pillow or having someone?" She raised an eyebrow at him. "Considering how pent up you are, I wouldn't be surprised if it was just a pillow."

Grim grunted in response and shook his head, clearly not amused with her sudden change in attitude. Just when he was about to turn the lamp back off, she said to him,

"Don't think I don't notice the way you look at me."

He looked back at her, his eyes looking between hers. Was she being serious?

Her eyebrows raised slightly. "Yeah, I notice a lot more things than you think. Like back at the Coast, I didn't fail to see how you stared at me."

"So?"

"So, I think we can both benefit each other..."

The implement in her tone wasn't missed by him. For the briefest of moments, he had considered her offer. Although he himself wouldn't admit it, they both wanted the same thing. But the catch was, there was almost no privacy where they were. They could be heard or someone could walk in on them. It was also cold.

"Not here."

"Then where?"

He shook his head. "Not here."

Shredder nodded, then. Not the right place or the right time. "My offer still stands, Grim. Whenever you're willing to take it."

She stood then and grabbed her bag, most likely heading out to change into her armour. She most likely wasn't one to go back to sleep after waking so close to dawn. "Can't go far, so you know where I can be found."

With that, she left the tent.

Grim sighed and brushed a hand through his messy hair. He was definitely tempted, no doubt about that, but the lack of privacy wasn't too welcome. Public sex wasn't something he was too keen to explore, or explore at all really.

It didn't mean he wouldn't take up on her offer, but just not right now.


End file.
